Not everyone celebrates Halloween in the same fashion, but whether it’s pumpkin carving, haunted houses, costume design or good old fashioned candy, there was a little bit of everything on campus this week.
One of the more popular events was put on by Carolina Productions. They brought the Halloween spirit to campus Monday night with free pumpkins accompanied with carving and painting tools on Greene Street. Students flashed their Carolina ID and were able to choose from a variety of pumpkins which, for some, could be the most crucial stage of the process. When it comes to the perfect pumpkin, Jessica Lessin, third-year finance and sports and entertainment management student says hers “has to be the biggest pumpkin.”
Once the pumpkin had been picked, students could then carve out or paint at the event with the tools provided or they could take them back home to work with at their leisure. With 350 pumpkins up for grabs there was no shortage of fun designs from spooky ghouls to USC pride.
Inside the Russell House was a different atmosphere. The ballrooms had been turned into dark halls dotted with strange glowing lights and monsters that roamed about to try to catch unsuspecting students. This was good news for Lessin.
“When they jump out and touch you, that’s my favorite one," she said.
Come Tuesday, students were taking a bolder approach to celebrating by putting on their favorite costumes. They enjoyed walking around campus in either a wacky Winnie the Pooh onesie, the ever terrifying clown or a favorite character such as Batman. For fourth-year theatre and English student Michael Ferrucci, it was an all day event where he wore his costume to school and moved on to trick-or-treating with his little brother because, as he puts it, “I'm Batman.”
In addition to the costumes around campus Tuesday morning, there were people giving out candy to satisfy everyone's sweet tooth. Organizations such as the Lettered Olive were selling handfuls of candy for a dollar to support their magazine which publishes undergraduate student work.
All totaled, it was a large variety of activities on campus for the holiday and students seemed pleased with their options on campus.